The fortress at the old stone crossing did not fall during a battle.
When the storm arrived, the men posted along its walls barely had time to look up at the sky. The wind descended upon them with unnatural force, extinguishing torches, tearing away canvas, breaking poorly repaired doors, and making the battlements tremble as if the entire structure had suddenly lost the right to remain standing. Some tried to form ranks, others ran toward the stables, and a few, either more cowardly or more intelligent, understood too late that they were not facing a natural event.
The first wall split inward.
After that, everything happened with extreme speed.
The stone sank under invisible pressure, the towers gave way one after another, and the screams were swallowed by the roar of rain and the crack of splintering wood. The soldiers who had used that place as a nest to raid villages, sell innocents, and turn the name of House Muno into an excuse for abuse were dragged down by the collapse before they could understand what judgment had fallen upon them.
When the noise ended, the fortress could no longer be called one.
It was a mountain of dark rubble beneath the rain.
The commander was still alive, barely. Half his body had been trapped under a broken beam, and every attempt to move only tore a wet groan from him, choked between mud, blood, and stone dust. His armor, once polished and bright, was dented in several places. His mouth was full of dirt, his eyes wide open, and his desperate breathing barely managed to rise above the constant drumming of the rain.
Before him, standing atop the remains of the main gate, a figure dressed in black watched him in silence.
Satoru was not wearing his hood. Rain slid down his dark hair, descended along his face, and disappeared into the folds of his cloak without changing his expression. His blue eyes, cold and clean, showed no anger. No satisfaction either. Only attention, as if he were verifying the result of a task that had to be completed.
"P-please…" the commander stammered, trying to drag himself away, though the wood embedded in his side would not allow it. "No… I don't… I don't want to die."
Satoru watched him for a few more seconds.
"Are you afraid? Though someone like you should know how banal those words truly are."
The man trembled harder.
"I…"
"You do not need to say anything more," Satoru interrupted.
His voice was not loud. It did not need to be. Even with the storm around them, it reached the commander with such clarity that he closed his eyes by pure reflex.
Satoru lowered his gaze toward the bodies scattered through the mud. Some were still alive, but did not move. Others had died with their hands clinging to weapons they never had the chance to use. Among the ruins of the fortress were sealed crates of grain, clean blankets, village tools, account books, coins mixed with blood, and the remains of what had once been wooden and metal cages.
"I did not come to make you answer for your actions. In truth, I am grateful to you."
The commander opened his eyes.
For an instant, he thought he had found salvation in that word.
Then Satoru spoke again.
"Thanks to the way you acted, I have gained a simple and effective way to improve my image. So whether you regret your actions or not does not matter. It will not change what will happen to you."
There was no scream afterward. Only a dull impact, muffled by the rain.
By the time the storm began to weaken, the rubble of the old stone crossing no longer belonged to the soldiers. The useful provisions had been separated, the documents preserved inside a waterproof box, and the bodies were left beneath the rain, exposed as a warning.
As the days passed, rumors began to circulate.
In a village west of the main road, the inhabitants woke one morning to the sound of rain striking the thatched roofs. At first there was fear, because in Muno rain rarely came when it was needed, and when it did, it usually brought more grievance than relief. But this time was different. It fell slowly, steadily, without flooding the furrows or dragging away the dry soil. When it stopped, the elders went out to touch the ground with their hands and found a soft, deep moisture, as if the earth had drunk after years with its throat closed.
No one knew what to say.
In Tonze, where no one remained to receive the change, grass began to sprout. The empty houses still stood, crooked and silent, but around the abandoned wells small patches of green appeared. It was not enough to call it recovery. Not yet. But the travelers who passed through there swore the place felt more alive than ever.
Farther south, a group of peasants found the road cleared of beasts. They had gone out prepared to run or die, as so many times before, but found only deep tracks around the path and dried blood near the trees. None of them saw who was responsible. Even so, that night, when they reached another village and told what had happened, someone remembered seeing a black silhouette crossing the hill beneath the rain, accompanied by a young woman.
In another village, they believed none of it. They said dead land did not revive on its own, that the soldiers from the fort had been destroyed by some great beast, and that no man, no matter how powerful, could move throughout the entire barony mobilizing natural disasters.
Then a child found new sprouts beside the burned field, and from the distance two figures could once again be distinguished.
The rumors grew in disorder, without messengers or official proclamations. In some villages, they spoke of a miracle. In others, of a cursed spirit born from all the deaths that had occurred.
But the rumors did not reach everywhere.
The barony was vast, the roads were broken, and the villages had spent too long isolated by fear, hunger, and monsters. One village could receive rain for two days while another still stared at dry fields. One road could be cleared of beasts while another remained closed by creatures no one dared to face. In some places the land recovered its vitality; in others, the dark energy accumulated beneath years of death and resentment still weighed like an incurable disease.
Satoru, however, did not worry about the places he had not reached.
Because he knew that making it rain was not enough.
Killing beasts was not enough.
Returning color to one plot of land was not enough if, beneath the roots, the earth still carried the traces of all those who had died upon it without rest.
That was why he did not plan to continue where he had left off.
Karina did not know that immediately.
During the first days, Satoru moved with a consistency difficult to follow. He did not go from village to village announcing his arrival, nor did he gather people to explain his intentions. He appeared, observed, asked precise questions, and acted only when he considered it correct. Sometimes he made rain fall over a field that was too dry. Other times, he stood for long minutes with one hand on the ground, letting silent magic spread beneath his feet. On other occasions, he simply disappeared into the forest and returned with the smell of blood.
At first, Karina tried to ask him every time.
Eventually, she stopped.
Not because she had lost her curiosity, but because she began to understand the rhythm with which Satoru responded. If the question seemed necessary to him, he answered. If not, he remained silent. And if Karina insisted too much, he looked at her for several seconds until she ended up looking away with a frown.
That did not mean she had fully gotten used to him.
But at least she felt they had grown closer than before.
That morning, they were in a cleared area near the tower Satoru had recreated as a temporary shelter. Karina had not reacted much when she saw it for the first time; unlike Raika, Karina did not know enough about magic to understand how astonishing that spell was.
In front of the tower, Karina advanced with her fists raised.
Her breathing was rough, her blonde hair clung to her face from sweat, and the traveling clothes she wore already had stains of earth on the knees and sides. Even so, she did not step back. She took a firm step, turned her torso, and threw a direct punch toward Satoru's chest.
He deflected it with his palm.
The movement was small. Almost offensive in how simple it was.
Karina clenched her teeth and chained another strike, this time toward his side. Satoru tilted his body only slightly, letting the fist pass in front of his clothes without touching them. She tried to correct with an elbow strike, but he lifted two fingers and pushed her wrist at the exact angle needed to break her posture.
Karina lost her balance, stumbled, and nearly fell forward.
She did not.
She planted one hand on the ground, turned clumsily, and managed to get back up before Satoru said anything.
"You still put too much weight forward," he commented.
Karina took a deep breath before lowering her gaze and, once again, after confirming that she could not see her own feet, answered him.
"That is not my fault."
"That was not what I meant."
She shot him an irritated look.
"I know. But you could explain it instead of being so brief."
"Would it change anything? You understand what I meant and why, but you still have not corrected the error."
Karina opened her mouth, closed it, and got back into her stance.
"No. But it would be less annoying."
Satoru did not answer.
That, for some reason, irritated her even more.
Karina advanced again. This time she feinted a high strike and lowered her body to try sweeping his leg. Satoru lifted his foot before she could reach him, and the movement left Karina attacking empty space. Her own momentum did the rest. She lost stability, tried to correct herself, and ended up sitting on the damp grass.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she lifted her gaze.
"Don't laugh."
"I was not going to."
"That is annoying too."
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
Satoru tilted his head slightly. In truth, he did not understand her.
Karina let out a long sigh and dropped onto her back on the grass. The sky above her was covered with soft clouds, not as dense as the ones from previous days. Ever since Satoru had begun visiting villages, many of them had felt lighter, but that bad omen still persisted in many places.
Karina turned her head toward him.
"So… are we really not going to keep helping more villages?"
Satoru did not answer immediately. He looked toward the edge of the clearing, where several trees grew crooked after years of poor soil and little light. Some had new buds on their lower branches. Others remained dry.
"Not in that way."
Karina frowned and slowly sat up.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I have already confirmed what I needed to confirm."
"That does not explain anything."
"…Muno's magical core has been reactivated. If it works as Nina Lottel explained, the land should recover its vitality over time. What I did in the villages was confirm that process in specific areas."
Karina lowered her gaze toward the grass.
"So the land can recover."
"Yes. Not immediately, but yes."
"And what spell did you use?"
"I fed the soil's life flow with my mana. It does not replace the core. I only accelerated the process in certain points."
Karina looked at him closely.
"Where did you learn something like that? As a necromancer, shouldn't you be cursing the land instead of healing it?"
"Lady Karina…" Raka sounded like he wanted to sigh.
Satoru remained silent for a moment.
It was not a long silence, but it was enough for Karina to notice that she had touched something he did not intend to explain in detail.
"From an old adversary," he said at last. "She mastered natural magic with unforgettable precision."
Karina blinked.
"You had an adversary? Someone could fight you?"
"Yes."
"Was she that strong, or could it be that you weren't as strong back then?"
"…In a way, yes. I did not have what I have now."
Karina puffed her cheeks slightly.
"You always do that."
"Do what?"
"That! Pretend there's nothing else left to say! Can't you explain yourself better?"
"It was not necessary information."
"To you, nothing is necessary information."
Satoru watched her for a few seconds.
"That is not correct."
"Well, it feels correct."
Raka spoke then, his tone calm and somewhat tired.
"Lady Karina, there are matters a warrior prefers not to speak of. Insisting too much may be discourteous."
Karina looked at the ornament with a grimace.
"Raka, I don't need you to defend him."
"I am not defending him. I am preventing my lady from becoming a rude person."
Karina pressed her lips together, but did not insist.
Satoru resumed his explanation as if the interruption had never happened.
"The land had two main problems. The first was the inactivity of the core. That has already been corrected. The second is the accumulated negative energy."
Karina tensed slightly.
"That dark feeling."
"Yes. Resentment, hatred, pain, and laments accumulated over years of deaths, abuse, and abandonment. In some places it is dispersed. In others, it is concentrated beneath the earth, in houses, roads, or areas where too many people died."
"And that prevents the land from healing?"
"It distorts it. The core can restore Muno's general flow, but if an area is too contaminated, the process will be slower."
Karina lowered her gaze.
Now she understood why some villages seemed to respond faster than others.
"Can't you remove it with magic?"
"Sacred power can do that, but my nature prevents me from using that kind of spell. Instead, I can absorb it directly."
Karina looked up at him.
"Is that safe?"
"For me, yes. But it is inefficient. It requires my direct presence and does not serve as a method for an entire barony."
"But we could keep doing it," she said. "One village more and then another."
"We could."
"Then…"
"And each one would depend on me appearing in time."
Karina closed her mouth.
Satoru looked toward the forest.
"That is not stability. It is dependency."
The word remained in the air with more weight than Karina expected.
"If every problem in Muno requires my direct intervention, then I will not be rebuilding anything. I will only be replacing one weakness with another. The villagers do not need to wait for some unknown figure to appear from the forest to solve their misfortunes. I can help them. But this region needs safe roads, capable soldiers, firm leaders, visible punishments for those who do wrong, and security methods that can be repeated without me."
Karina listened in silence.
This time, he did not sound like someone arrogantly claiming he could do everything.
He sounded like someone who understood the limits of an individual.
"That's why you want to return to Muno," she murmured.
"Yes."
"So the army moves."
"So Muno moves," Satoru corrected. "The army is only one part."
Karina lowered her gaze.
For several days, she had thought of Satoru as an external force capable of correcting what her family had been unable to. That was humiliating, but also simple. If he could solve it, then they only needed to follow him. But now the answer was more uncomfortable. He could begin the change, prove that it was possible, and erase threats no one else could face, but he did not intend to become the sole pillar holding up the barony.
That left her without a comfortable excuse.
"My father will have to carry this," she said.
"Yes."
Karina closed her eyes for a moment.
"And Nina too."
"She already knows."
That drew a smile from her.
"Of course she knows. Nina always knows what to do."
Satoru did not answer.
Karina opened her eyes and looked at him again. The irritation was still there, but it was no longer the same. She was not angry because he refused to help. She was angry because she felt powerless.
"So we are waiting until they allow us to return."
"Correct."
"And in the meantime?"
"I will continue my research."
Karina looked at him immediately.
"That means locking yourself in the tower again."
"Probably."
"No."
Satoru blinked once.
"No?"
"No."
"…It was not a question."
"Well, my answer wasn't either."
Raka let out a low sigh, very much like that of an old man.
"Lady Karina…"
"Last time he said he would investigate a little and ended up spending two entire days without coming out," Karina interrupted. "Two days. Do you know how boring that was?"
"I offered reasonable conversation during that period."
"You are not exactly the best person to pass the time with."
Karina decided to ignore him and pointed a finger at Satoru.
"I am not staying here while you shut yourself away again."
Satoru observed her in silence.
Karina felt an immediate impulse to lower her hand, but forced herself to keep it raised. She no longer feared him the same way she had at first, though that did not mean facing him was easy. His mere presence could make any complaint seem childish.
"Do you have an alternative suggestion?" he asked.
Karina opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
That was the problem. She did not.
She had rejected the idea on impulse. After being alone for so long, she disliked the thought of losing her only real company, but she had not thought about what they could do instead. Satoru seemed to notice exactly that, because he said nothing. He did not even need to.
Karina felt her face heat up.
"I'm thinking."
"I understand."
"Don't say it like that."
"I have not changed my tone."
"That is the problem."
Raka intervened before they continued circling around the same point.
"Lady Karina, originally you left Muno with a specific purpose."
Karina went still.
Satoru shifted his gaze toward the ornament.
"The giants."
"That is correct," Raka replied. "The circumstances have changed, but establishing a relationship with them could be beneficial for Muno. Not only now, but for future generations. If the old records are accurate, their strength and knowledge could become valuable support for the barony."
Karina lowered her hand a little.
"That… would make sense."
"Furthermore," Raka continued, "it would allow you to resume your original objective without depending solely on Lord Satoru's intervention."
Karina frowned.
"Put that way, it sounds like you were waiting for the right moment to scold me."
"I have waited for several."
"Raka!"
Satoru remained silent for a few seconds.
"Giants hidden in the region," he murmured.
Karina looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Are you interested?"
"Yes."
"You admitted that very quickly."
"Because it is true."
Karina sighed, though this time she did not seem annoyed.
"Of course."
Satoru already seemed to have left the previous discussion behind. His attention shifted immediately, not with visible emotion, but with that clean concentration Karina had seen when he analyzed contaminated fields, magical remains, or documents stolen from the fortress.
"If they have remained hidden, they must have some method to avoid detection," he said. "A barrier, an illusion, perceptual alteration, or a combination of those factors. It is also possible they use physical routes difficult to register from the outside."
Karina crossed her arms.
"I only knew they lived somewhere in the forest."
"Who told you?"
"Raka."
Satoru looked at the ornament again.
"The giants have lived in these lands since ancient times," Raka explained. "I cannot guarantee they remain in this same place, but the existence of the giants should not be doubted."
"Then I will find them," Satoru said.
Karina stared at him.
"Just like that?"
"Yes."
"Don't you need to prepare?"
"I will send reconnaissance summons. Afterward, we will verify any anomaly personally."
Karina processed the answer and, although she could not say she was surprised, she did feel a strange satisfaction upon hearing it. Even though he usually made excuses, Satoru truly did seem capable.
"Fine," she said, lifting her chin slightly. "But this time, warn me before you make something strange appear."
Satoru raised one hand.
Several small shadows emerged around the clearing, taking the forms of black birds and bone creatures with folded wings.
One hundred [Bone Vultures] appeared around them.
Karina went still.
Then she slowly looked at him.
"That was exactly the opposite of warning me."
"You had already been warned."
"One second beforehand doesn't count!"
Satoru did not respond.
The creatures waited in silence.
Karina took a deep breath, brought a hand to her chest, and muttered something about impossible men, impossible magic, and impossible manners. Even so, she did not step back.
Raka spoke quietly.
"You reacted better than the first time."
"Don't help."
"I am acknowledging your progress."
"Don't help like that."
Meanwhile, Satoru gave his orders.
"Search for signs of large humanoid beings, barriers, areas where perception distorts, or tracks that disappear without physical cause. Do not engage in combat. Do not cross a barrier if you cannot return."
The creatures inclined their heads.
Then they took off in different directions.
Karina followed them with her eyes until they disappeared among the trees.
"And us?"
Satoru began walking.
"We will move as well. Although my undead cannot be mentally affected, there is a possibility they may overlook something. Because of that, I must also travel personally."
Karina let out a sigh, but followed him.
"That means a lot of walking, doesn't it?"
"Probably."
"Fine. After everything that happened, I have confidence in my endurance."
Satoru looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"A few days ago, you were complaining about walking."
Karina lifted her chin.
"A few days ago, I was not lost at my best."
"I understand."
"Don't make that face. This time it really is different."
"I have not changed my expression."
"Yes, you have."
Satoru did not answer.
And Karina, though she continued walking with a frown, could not help feeling a little satisfied.
********
Author's Note:
First of all, thank you again for reading and continuing to support the story. I really appreciate it.
This chapter ended up being delayed more than I expected. Part of it was because I spent a few days with my family, but the main reason was that I had trouble deciding how to connect the next part of the arc without rushing the pacing of the story.
Originally, the giants were supposed to appear later, and this chapter was meant to be the final one focused mainly on Satoru and Karina. However, while organizing the arc, I ended up rearranging several things. In the end, I felt it was better to introduce the giants earlier so that part would not interrupt the flow later on.
I also wanted to use this section to show more aspects of Satoru's personality outside of combat or extreme situations. A large part of this chapter exists precisely because of that.
Starting with the next chapter, we'll finally begin focusing fully on the giant arc.
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.